Teaching Your Child To Work

What would you do if your child came to you and told you they felt they needed to be doing an hour to an hour and a half of chores during the summer months?  Feel their forehead for fever?  Gotcha!

A friend of mine told me recently that her daughter, did indeed say that to her!  The daughter had it all figured up that if she did 90 minutes of chores, she’d still have 6 hours of free time during the day!

I think sometimes the problems that summer can bring is due to too much time on a child’s hands.  They end up getting “bored,” or into trouble because they need a little more structure in their day.

Giving your child responsibilities will also lighten your load!  The chores they do will, of course, need to be overseen by you, but as they learn, then you can step back further and further.  Here are suggestions for young children:

Preschooler’s chores

1. Pull the covers up on their bed and smooth it out.
2. Wipe baseboards with a rag.
3. Match socks
4. Put toys into a bin
5. Set the table
6. Fold wash cloths
7. Sweep small messes with a dustpan and brush
8. Dust
9. Water flowers with a watering can
10. Empty small trash cans into larger one

Children 5-7

1. Make the bed
2. Feed pets
3. Wipe the table after a meal
4. Help prepare a meal or dessert
   1. Place pre-sliced Salad ingredients into bowl
   2. Make a sandwich
   3. Make toast
   4. Place cupcake liners in pan
   5. Help mix ingredients
5. Fold their laundry – don’t expect perfection
6. Pick up trash in car
7. Carry items from the car to the house
8. Pull weeds – show which ones are the weeds!
9. Assist in putting away groceries
10. Sort colors and whites in laundry piles

Children 8-10

1. Clean the bathroom
2. Load the dishwasher
3. Unload the dishwasher
4. Bring in the mail
5. Sweep the porch/patio
6. Fold laundry
7. Use a vegetable peeler on carrots and potatoes
8. Shake out rugs
9. Measure ingredients for cookies or pancakes
10. Make a simple lunch

10 – 12 Years old

1. Mop floors
2. Vacuum
3. Wash car
4. Cook dinner
5. Iron
6. Watch younger siblings
7. Mow the grass

You’re doing your child a favor by teaching them to work around the house.  They need these skills, and will have learned in a very profitable way that

The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul!

Proverbs 13:19

After they’ve worked hard to clean the family room or bathroom, they might be a lot more protective of the other family members (themselves included) dropping piles on the coffee table, or leaving the bathroom a mess after bath time! Aaaand, they will be using their day productively with less time to let boredom set in on them!

Enjoy summer and help your child enjoy it, too, by teaching them to work wisely!

What other chores do you teach your children to do?

With love,